
Table of contents
- 1.Comp time defined
- 2.General rule
- 3.Exempt or non-exempt
- 4.State laws
- 5.Helpful links
Comp time defined
Comp time, or compensatory time, is time off with pay instead of overtime pay. For instance, if an employee works 50 hours in a week, instead of paying overtime for the extra hours, the employee could get extra, paid time off the in the next few weeks.
General rule
Under the Fair Labor Standars Act, private sector employers can only give comp time to non-exempt employees.
If your non-profit is a private company, then you usually can't offer your non-exempt employee compensatory time.
Exempt or non-exempt
If you're not sure whether your employee is exempt, this answer details the difference.
State laws
Before you decide to give your employee compensatory time, you should verify if your state permits compensatory time.
For example, California law provides that public, and some private sector employees, can receive comp time instead of overtime. However, as SHRM notes, California law on compensatory time conflicts with current federal law. You may want to seek legal counsel before deciding whether you can offer comp time to employees.
Helpful links
This article is for informational purposes only, is not legal, tax or accounting advice, and is not an offer to sell, buy or procure insurance. It may contain links to third-party sites or information for reference only. Inclusion does not imply TriNet’s endorsement of or responsibility for third-party content.

Karen Gracey
Table of contents
- 1.Comp time defined
- 2.General rule
- 3.Exempt or non-exempt
- 4.State laws
- 5.Helpful links





